


Kageyama and the Laws of Attraction

by Natsume Gekka (athenianAcolyte)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Kageyama Tobio-centric, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, POV Kageyama Tobio, all of those ships are one-sided except one, even then you can read it as platonic/non-romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athenianAcolyte/pseuds/Natsume%20Gekka
Summary: Tobio doesn't understand people and feelings like he does volleyball. But he's trying. He just can't get why his friends act so stupid sometimes.A series of snapshots of the Karasuno first year's various crushes, through Kageyama's POV.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 93





	Kageyama and the Laws of Attraction

**Author's Note:**

> I realized I never really write Kageyama in my other fics, so I wrote this as a challenge to myself to try to get a better understanding of him. It was really hard, but I hope I did him justice.
> 
> The title of each section and the themes were based on the color wheel theory of love, so go ahead and check out the Wiki page if you finish.

_Pink_

Tobio doesn’t do well with people. His social skills might be improving, but there are some things he thinks he’ll never understand. Like the fact that his fellow first years on the volleyball team can’t help themselves from acting stupid. It may not sound strange in Hinata’s case since he’s a born idiot. But it’s even stranger for the other three considering they’re supposed to be the smart ones. 

Take this scene for example.

He and Hinata are at Yachi’s apartment studying. It’s not the first time Tobio has been invited to a study session, but it’s the first where he can peacefully study. The ones in middle school - or at least the few he was actually invited to - were filled with more needless conversation and gossip than actual studying. Meanwhile, the study sessions with Tsukishima were often ruled by fear. At least Yachi is patient enough to answer his questions, no matter how stupid.

It’s been tough work, but after nearly four straight hours of studying, Yachi grants both of them a break. It couldn’t have come any sooner, since Hinata lets out a huge sigh and dramatically falls to the ground with arms overhead. 

“Bwaaaahh… studying is such hard work! I’d rather be spending the time practicing our new quick, you know?” Hinata says.

“Yeah, you definitely need it,” Tobio agrees. Hinata responds with a squawk of indignation and a stuck out tongue.

“I don’t get why Classical Japanese is so important anyway. It’s not like I can use any of those stupid sayings during games.”

“But it’s important to learn these things for other areas in life!” Yachi says as she returns to the room carrying a tray laden with food.

“Woohoo! Snacks!” Hinata shouts, his stomach loudly gurgling in anticipation.

“Like what?” Tobio asks. 

Yachi squeaks at his question, making Tobio wonder if his tone was rough. But where would he use Classical Japanese in his life? Volleyball is his life so if he can’t use it on the court, what use does it have?

“Um, well… making friends maybe? Or perhaps romancing someone!” Yachi says. A pink glow dusts her cheeks as she continues speaking.

“Think of sitting under a cherry tree in bloom, the moon hanging overhead as you sit next to your lover. She whispers something in your ear and you can’t help but look at her and comment ‘the moon is lovely tonight.’ And she can only blush as she looks only at you as she agrees with your sentiment.”

“I don’t get it…,” Tobio says blankly. “What does any of that have to do with Classical Japanese?”

Yachi gasps in surprise and just spits out an apology for going off track. She grabs the yogurt drink off the tray to hand to Tobio. And not a moment too soon - he’d been eying that drink ever since Yachi entered the room.

“Hey Yachi,” Hinata begins around a mouthful of half-eaten chips, “I couldn’t help but notice… Do you like Shimizu?” 

Yachi startles at the question, almost spilling the glass she’s handing to Tobio. He shoots a glare at Hinata, but the boy only minimally shrinks at his gaze these days.

“Um, ye-yeah, but who doesn’t honestly? She’s so smart, and pretty, not to mention patient and great at explaining things! And-”

Tobio rolls his eyes. From the way things look, Yachi could keep going on until she passes out from exhaustion. Thankfully Hinata stops her before she reaches that point.

“I mean all of that is true! But I mean, do you like Shimizu in the same way Tanaka and Nishinoya do?”

The blush disappears from Yachi’s face. Tobio has never seen someone go from pink to white so fast.

“I, uh well, perhaps…”

“Cool! You’re like me then!”

“Eh?”

Yachi looks as confused as Tobio feels.

“I had a sense you were attracted to girls the same way I’m attracted to guys! Well, I like girls too, but I didn’t want to assume…”

“Oh, no it’s fine,” Yachi responds, despite still looking quite dazed.

“Wait, Hinata! Do you get that same sense from Shimizu?” 

A rosy hue returns to her face. Her expression seems soft, almost hopeful. But just as quickly, her trademark nervousness crops up again.

“Wait, pretend I didn’t say anything! I don’t want to know! But perhaps… Ah! Nevermind! Do you know if she’s used to female admirers? Oh forget it!”

Tobio lays his head down on the desk in frustration. It’s the same as some of the study sessions in middle school: just talking about girls again. Sure, it’s a bit different when one of the conversation participants is a girl too. But it’s still the same old shit.

People are weird.

_Yellow_

Yamaguchi has been out of sorts for all of practice. Tobio knows it’s bad when he, of all people, notices something is wrong. Of course, that’s because the boy had received one of Tanaka’s spikes to the face. Even Hinata was surprised. 

At the end of practice, Tobio discovers the possible cause: he spots Yamaguchi clutching a letter to his chest, a cream-colored piece of paper sealed shut with a star sticker.

Tobio frowns; there must be something important about that letter if Yamaguchi doesn’t notice him walking up next to him. Standing there, Tobio can see that Yamaguchi’s attention is solely on Yachi. The small blonde is happily listening to Shimizu talk, a light blush dusting her cheeks. Under the gym’s lights, Yachi’s hair seems to have a golden glow that complements her rosy cheeks quite well.

Tobio isn’t sure why he approaches Yamaguchi to begin with. Some part of him says it’s not worth it since he’s rarely on the court to begin with. But another, quieter part of him insists that if any one of his teammates aren’t playing at their best, then it should be something of his concern.

_ After all, a setter should be able to draw one-hundred percent out of their team... _

Tobio steels himself as he speaks to Yamaguchi:

“You’re going to ruin that letter if you grip it any more tightly.”

Yamaguchi leaps with a loud screech that catches the attention of the rest of the gym. There’s a few laughs from Tanaka and Nishinoya at his expense, but it doesn’t take long for everyone to return to cleanup. Tobio does feel Tsukishima’s eyes boring into the back of his head, but he can ignore it. He’s simply accepted that the taller boy hates him no matter what. The animosity is mutual after all. 

“Oh! Kageyama! What are you… what brings you here?”

“Volleyball practice,” Tobio states matter of factly.

“Oh, right… of course…,” Yamaguchi says, visibly deflating.

“Your letter got wrinkled,” Tobio points out. Yamaguchi looks down at the crushed paper in his fist. His face freezes in an expression of a silent scream.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Yamaguchi starts chanting as he tries to straighten out the letter against his leg. The areas where Yamaguchi had been gripping the letter too hard are obvious in the form of bright yellow sweat stains.

“Just write a new one. It looks like crap now.”

“You’re right,” Yamaguchi admits with a sigh. “I don’t want to give a half-assed confession to Yachi.”

“Then don’t bother, I think she likes Shi-”

“KA-GE-YA-MAAAA!” Hinata yells from across the gym. He runs at a speed that’s somehow faster than his usual racing speed, all to give him a flying kick to the rear.

“Sorry Yamaguchi, breaktime for Kageyama is over and we need to practice our new quick attack!” 

Hinata pushes Tobio away from the dejected Yamaguchi. The letter in the freckled boy’s hand hangs limply before falling to the ground.

“What the hell, dumbass?” Tobio yells. He digs in his heels so Hinata can’t push him any further. He then turns around to swipe at Hinata’s head only for the shorter boy to dodge out of his reach. He reaches again, only to miss once more.

“Cut it out, idiot Kageyama!” Hinata shouts in response. He then takes a quick survey of the gym before lowering his voice to a whisper.

“You can’t just out Yachi like that!” Hinata hisses.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Tobio says in a normal speaking voice. Hinata gestures at him to quiet down, earning him a chop to the head from Tobio. He grins victoriously at finally managing a hit on Hinata.

“Ow,” he tuts as he rubs his sore head. He once again scans the gym before turning back to Tobio.

“You’re making yourself look suspicious, stupid,” Tobio points out.

“You’re the stupid one here!” Hinata snaps. “You can’t just say that… Y’know that she…” 

Hinata makes some weird vague gestures with his hands that only confuse Tobio further.

“What?” Tobio asks brusquely.

“Ack! Kageyama you’re impossible! Just forget it and don’t tell anyone about  _ that _ !” Hinata warns as he turns around to help with clean-up.

“Huh? And what is  _ that _ ?” Tobio hisses at Hinata’s retreating back. Tobio is left with no answers to his question, much to his growing frustration.

The scowl on Tobio’s face deepens as he tries to figure out what  _ that  _ is. Why should Yachi’s crush on Shimizu be a secret? Tanaka and Nishinoya are pretty open about their affection for her. Is she embarrassed about it? She really shouldn’t be since everyone can agree about how attractive Shimizu is, even if he personally doesn’t see it.

Is this what he gets for trying to understand his teammates better? More confusion?

His gaze wanders over to where Yamaguchi was standing before. But now he’s talking to Tsukishima. As Yamaguchi raises a hand to rub at his eyes, Tsukishima glances over to Tobio. He shoots him a smirk before turning his attention back to Yamaguchi, golden-brown eyes growing softer as the duo walks out of the gym and into the night.

Tobio huffs and turns back to the court, where at least things out there make sense.

“Hey dumbass! Let’s practice that quick already!”

_Red_

Hinata and Tobio are kindred spirits. They share the same deep love of volleyball that many others can’t comprehend. But while Tobio’s love begins and ends with the sport itself, Hinata's love extends to the players as well.

“The training camp was so cool, Kageyama! Goshiki’s straight spikes are like ‘fwissh… BUH-BOOM!’ And Koganegawa has gotten so much better at blocking. Hyakuzawa was there too and you wouldn’t believe...”

It’s a familiar topic for Tobio by now. Anytime Hinata comes across an amazing volleyball player - which can and does range from anyone to everyone - he can’t stop gushing about them. For a while, it was Aone from Date Tech. Then there was Oikawa. That one was and still is a bit of a sore spot.

Hinata still hasn’t stopped talking, much to Tobio’s irritation. His face is flushed from his continuous chattering. Tobio doesn’t fully understand the art of conversations, but aren’t you supposed to stop talking if the other person isn’t participating? How can some people put up with the one-sided conversations?

“Shut up already!” Tobio finally snaps. “How does Nekoma’s setter put up with all of that yammering?”

“Oh, you mean Kenma?” Hinata asks with uncharacteristic bashfulness. If Hinata thought anything of Tobio’s sudden change in topic, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he seems to prefer the new talking point.

“Kenma is really patient and observant, even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes,” he says, his eyes growing brighter. 

“He’s also really good at reading people based off of the littlest bits of body language. He’s 

really amazing…”

Hinata trails off, the pink hue gracing his face turning darker. Tobio stares at Hinata, his confusion growing, when Hinata suddenly gasps.

“At volleyball, that is!” he shouts abruptly. “A-anyway, what were we talking about before?”

Tobio considers snapping at Hinata for getting so easily distracted again. They’re so close to nationals, yet this idiot can’t seem to focus on the end goal. But before Tobio can say anything hurtful again, he notices the bright red hue engulfing Hinata’s visage.

Huh...

“Nothing,” Tobio says harshly. Hinata looks concerned, but before the shorter boy can say anything, Tobio beats him to the punch:

“You’ve been staying in touch with Nekoma’s setter then?”

“Kenma!” Hinata shouts indignantly. “And yeah! He says they’ve been doing well in their division too. We might even play against them in Nationals!”

The sparkle in Hinata’s eyes are too bright, almost blinding. Tobio can’t bring himself to snuff it out yet.

“Doesn’t that make you worried? Playing against your…”

Tobio waves his hand, not sure of what word to use. ‘Friend’ feels too impersonal but no other word seems to reflect Hinata’s relationship with Kenma, if the blush on his cheeks is anything to go by.

“Not at all!” Hinata says decisively. “It would be nice to just see Kenma again,” he admits with a strangely sheepish tone in his voice.

“But it would be great to play against Nekoma on such a big stage! Could you imagine it? It would be Cats vs. Crows: Junkyard Battle Part Two! Doesn’t that sound cool?”

Tobio wants to say that it doesn’t. But he still can’t bring himself to put out the light in Hinata’s eyes.

_Blue_

A flash of blue and yellow hits Hinata in the back of the head. A quick glance across the court reveals Tsukishima as the culprit.

“Ah, sorry about that! Looks like my hand slipped,” Tsukishima says. The falsely sweet tone of his voice coupled with that smug smile shows how sorry he really is. 

The expression stays on his face even as Coach Ukai yells at him for slipping on his serves just before their first round of Nationals.

That’s right, they made it to Nationals. It’s everything they’ve been practicing and training for. And yet, Tsukishima seems to have no issue goofing around, much to Tobio’s irritation.

“Ugh… He’s been like this since the camp ended!” Hinata fumes. “I don’t get it! I thought we were on good terms now!”

Tobio is the last person Hinata should be complaining about Tsukishima to. The tall middle blocker is already a hard person to get along with and an even harder person to understand. That’s why Tobio tries to limit his contact with Tsukishima to volleyball activities only. And tutoring, but that’s mostly forced upon him. At least Hinata can handle the dirty work of groveling. 

While Tobio doesn’t really get people, he understands volleyball. And he’s been trying really hard to understand the players too. So while he’s not close to Tsukishima, he knows him a bit better as a player. And it’s not hard to figure out that Tsukishima hit Hinata intentionally.

“Is there anything on my face, King?” Tsukishima asks.

Tobio blinks. The bluish tinge around Tsukishima’s lips had disappeared once he began talking. Tsukishima is smiling, but it’s that fake smile he puts on as an intimidation tactic. 

“No, it’s nothing,” Tobio replies. It’s winter and the gym is cold, he reminds himself, crossing his arms to warm himself.

“Then please stop staring at me,” Tsukishima says snidely.

“Huh? I don’t stare at you any more than you do at Hinata,” Tobio snarls.

Tsukishima’s eyes widen for a brief second before he narrows them in an icy glare.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replies dismissively.

“You really don’t notice that you’re always looking at Hinata during practices and games?”

Tsukishima, for once, doesn’t have a quip for that. Tobio is actually as shocked as Tsukishima looks. Well, minus the bright red flush spreading across his face…

Wait a second…

“Are… are you jealous? Of  _ that  _ dumbass?” Tobio asks, jerking his thumb in the direction of Hinata. He’s currently standing alongside Nishinoya and Tanaka, who are talking excitedly while Hinata listens intently. 

As Tanaka suddenly strikes a dramatic pose, Nishinoya shouts something about how “cool” he is, while Hinata similarly fawns over his idiotic upperclassman. As the younger boy tries to attempt Tanaka’s pose, he trips over his feet and lands flat on his face. This is much to the amusement of his upperclassmen and any other spectators to their antics.

A variety of expressions flash across Tsukishima’s face in a span of a few seconds. First is wide-eyed blankness. Then, the cruelest sneer Tobio has ever seen on the other boy’s face. Just as quickly, it’s replaced by blankness yet again. Then finally, Tsukishima settles on a victorious looking smirk.

“Sure, that’s it. I’m just… jealous of the little pain in the ass.”

Tobio eyes Tsukishima skeptically. Tsukishima has to be lying, but Tobio can’t figure out what could be worse than admitting to being jealous of  _ Hinata _ . He’s not the prying type, and it’s definitely not the time for anything like this so he’ll drop it for now.

He gives a disbelieving snort before turning his back on Tsukishima, but before he walks away he leaves some final words with the taller boy:

“I don’t see why you have to lie. The truth can’t be any worse than  _ that. _ ”

“You’d be surprised,” Tsukishima mutters quickly under his breath.

“Huh?”

“What’s the matter? Is the King starting to go deaf?” Tsukishima teases.

It takes every ounce of self control for Tobio to not turn back around to confront Tsukishima. Tobio reminds himself - with much difficulty - that this is just one of the bespectacled boy’s distraction tactics. It doesn’t stop his fists from clenching nor his teeth from gritting, but it does help him with walking away.

In the remaining time they have left, Tobio and Hinata practice their quick and freak attacks as much as they can. Tobio can feel a pair of eyes watching them as they work, but Tobio knows it’s not him that they’re focusing on. But if he turns around to meet the stare himself, it would be a clashing of an icy blue glare against jealous golden-brown orbs.

_Green_

Volleyball is one of those things that makes sense in Tobio’s life. More than school, people, or feelings. There aren’t many other people who get volleyball like Tobio does. But there is one person whose love of the sport matches his own.

“Oi, Kageyama! Don’t tell me you’re taking a nap before the biggest game of your life!” 

Tobio snaps out of his musings at the sound of his name. A flash of red and orange enters his field of vision and blinds him with its brilliance.

“You wish,” Tobio replies with a smirk. “There’s no way I’m letting you go out there and make a mockery of our country on the court.” 

He’s met by a smile brighter than the sun.

“I was going to say the same about you. Now let’s go! We’re lining up now.”

Tobio rises off the bench and follows his teammates out of the locker room. As players, he and Hinata weren’t always equally matched. Tobio has always had the advantage of volleyball being an ever present element in his life since birth. Hinata is an absolute newcomer in comparison. But they didn’t need to be perfectly matched, just complementary pieces.

These days, Tobio can toss to anyone. That’s exactly what he’s worked on perfecting for years. So it frustrates and excites him that Hinata has also worked so hard while abroad. He’s an all-rounder now. He shouldn’t have a need for him.

And yet…

“Toss to me!”

Watching Hinata jump high in midair still makes his heart race with anticipation each time. There’s always an element of fear, of a risk, in his jumps. But it’s a trust born from years of hard work that makes Tobio set a toss his way each time.

And as Hinata faithfully makes a spike over the net, his form blocking out the light of the gym, Tobio could swear that his outline glows green, like that fabled flash that occurs the moment the sun sets on the horizon.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I also want to note that I had written this with the intention of Kageyama being asexual, but it ended up not being as prominent in the final product...
> 
> I'm open to any and all critique! It's my first time writing Kageyama and it was really a struggle, even in regards to his relationships with other people.


End file.
